Educational experience varies according to discipline

Panelist Steve Chatman presented findings from his study with University of California students that suggest those factors predicting success vary according to what discipline a student chooses. “Academic major impacts a students experience, and we deal with it very little as a profession,” said Chatman. He named a variety of studies that reinforce the idea that there is no such thing as one undergraduate education but many experiences which are filtered through a student’s choice of study. Chatman suggested that these findings should be considered when discussing to what extent SAT scores or high school GPAs predict academic success. Chatman is project Director, Student Experience in the Research University, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley